CAA offers Brexit guidance to UK aerospace industry
24/12/2018
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has a dedicated team working with the Department for Transport on matters relating to the UK’s exit from the EU. Multiple queries are coming into the authority, which is working to centralise communication and has set up a dedicated webpage, which will continue to be updated with the latest information as 29 March 2019, the date the UK is scheduled to formally leave the EU, draws closer.The CAA has been clear since the EU referendum that it considers the most positive outcome for UK consumers and the aviation industry to be one where the UK has continued participation within the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) system and where existing systems of mutual ecognition between the UK and EASA Member States remain. The government has also said it is keen to explore the terms of EASA participation as part of its negotiation with the EU. It is hoped that an agreement can be reached; however, the CAA has listed assumptions on the website that it has used to develop its approach for a potential non-negotiated withdrawal from the EU.
The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 will convert, if required, existing EU law into UK law and preserve existing UK laws that implement EU obligations. In a non-negotiated withdrawal scenario, a number of regulatory processes will need to be brought back within the UK system so that the CAA is able to continue to regulate the UK aviation industry. Preparatory work includes adjusting existing systems so that they could continue to work in exactly the same way as they do now, but with the UK government and the CAA fulfilling regulatory functions independently of the EU.
During the last meeting of the UK NANDTB, Mr Neal Cuddy, Airworthiness Surveyor at the CAA, said: “There are many questions and few answers at present.
At this stage, it is recommended that specific queries are submitted to the CAA, which can be formally responded to by our Brexit team. Please bear in mind that the team is speaking with the ADS group and so some of your colleagues are already engaged in dialogue.”
For further information, visit the CAA website at: www.caa.co.uk/our-work/about-us/eu-exit/
